Mobile School Health Information (MoSHI) Project

 Mobile School Health Information (MoSHI) Project
Abridged Final Report February 1, 2010 – March 31, 2011 Project Team: Will Olmstadt, MSLS, MPH, AHIP Judy Hansen, MAEd, MLIS Bob Engeszer, MLS, AHIP Washington University School of Medicine 660 S. Euclid Ave., Campus Box 8132 St. Louis, MO 63110 314‐362‐4734 314‐454‐6606 (fax) olmstadtw@wusm.wustl.edu Submitted March 31, 2011 Executive Summary
Project Results
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The Mobile School Health Information Initiative (MoSHI) trained 93 people at 8 sites
during its funding cycle. Based on demographics from in-class evaluations, more than
half of participants served either elementary or high school populations.
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The MoSHI project achieved a 91% response rate for in-class evaluations and a 54%
response rate for the follow-up web evaluation.
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The evaluation plan specified 2 short-term and 2 near-term objectives to be measured by
the in-class evaluation and a follow-up evaluation, respectively. Data suggest the project
met or exceeded all 4 objectives.
Lessons about the Audience

Continued budget shortfalls in public school districts may limit the availability of
qualified school librarians.
o Some districts are reducing school library positions through attrition or retirement
incentives. These districts may then ask remaining employees to supervise 2 or
more school libraries.

Private and charter schools may not necessarily have a staffed library.
o Charter schools may not have librarians on staff at all.
o Parochial schools may have parents, volunteers, and retirees staffing the library.

Child advocates and parents should be aware the connection between teaching and
learning requires more than just hiring credentialed classroom teachers. Properly staffed
school libraries impact lifetime reading habits and scores on standard tests of reading.
Lessons for Health Science Libraries

Health science librarians are in a unique position to share knowledge and learn from our
colleagues in school libraries. K-12 students are future health care professionals. The
number of participants who had never used NLM web sites suggests that health science
librarians are missing an outreach opportunity.

For health science librarians, completing a small project like MoSHI can yield big
benefits. There was great interest from our faculty in adapting MoSHI to deliver credible
information to patients and community members.
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Coffee mug and USB drive premiums for MoSHI project
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The MoSHI team gratefully acknowledges help from:
Robert Altman, Becker Medical Library
Harriette Arkin, Consultant, Ladue Schools
Jessica Brown, Gateway Media Literacy Partners, Inc.
Bernyce Christiansen, Ursuline Academy of St. Louis
Kristin Cunningham, BJC School Outreach & Youth Development
Eve Diel, Parkway North High School
Mary Evans, Nipher Middle School
Rose Kettler, Becker Medical Library
Lynne Lang, BJC School Outreach & Youth Development
Angela Lima, BJC School Outreach & Youth Development
Cindy Miller, Fort Zumwalt North High School
Maggie Newbold, Fort Zumwalt West High School
Ann Rogers, DeVry University, Dallas/Irving
Michelle Schmitt, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Katie Voss, Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School
Bill Winston, Washington University GIS Analyst
Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, MidContinental Region
Becker Medical Library staff
Family Resource Center staff, St. Louis Children’s Hospital